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SIGNOFF; A Spunky Heroine Navigates Adolescence

REMEMBER the days, the exhilarating, angst-ridden days of early adolescence when parents were a source of unending embarrassment, a pimple could ruin your life and lifelong friendships could unravel in a minute?

Sue Rose does. She is the creator and executive producer of ''Pepper Ann,'' an animated series about the adventures of a spunky 12-year-old girl that is the final half-hour segment of a new two-hour Disney series ''One Saturday Morning'' (8:30 to 10:30 A.M. on ABC).

''It's not autobiographical, but you can't help but bring your own memories to the material,'' said Ms. Rose, a former advertising executive. ''The 'tween age, between childhood and adulthood, is such a ripe age. You have a lot of the angst of older teen-agers, yet there is still that wonderment of childhood.''

The series follows the exuberant, redheaded Pepper Ann as she navigates the perilous passage through the seventh grade, assisted by her best friends Nicky and Milo and a bevy of schoolmates, as well as her divorced, working mother and younger sister, Moose.

''We touch on big issues like divorce and topics adults might think are insignificant -- clothes, crushes -- but to a 12-year-old girl are everything,'' said Ms. Rose.

The overall theme of the episodes, according to Ms. Rose, is that ''life goes on and a bad-hair day or a fight with a friend isn't the end of the world.''

''We try to show kids that you grow from your experiences,'' she added. ''It's important for them to see Pepper Ann go through things they can relate to.''

The colorful animation visually represents Pepper Ann's innermost feelings. She literally melts into a puddle when she is embarrassed. And when her mother kisses her in front of all her friends, she imagines a television news crew arriving on the scene and demanding, ''How does it feel to be totally humiliated in front of all your friends?''

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''Pepper Ann'' began as a comic strip created by Ms. Rose for YM magazine in the early 1990's.

''It was a completely different incarnation,'' said Ms. Rose. ''Pepper Ann was older and was the only character; she'd talk to herself about her inner feelings.''

At the suggestion of a friend, Ms. Rose developed the strip into a television show by creating a story line and adding other characters. She pitched the program to Walt Disney Television Animation, which ordered 13 episodes.

''Pepper Ann isn't like other animated characters you see on television,'' said Barry Blumberg, senior vice president of Walt Disney Television Animation. ''She's an embraceable, thought-provoking character with a real point of view.''

To keep current with the latest adolescent slang and fads, Ms. Rose said, she eavesdrops on teen-agers' conversations at malls and beaches and watches new movies and television shows. Ms. Rose and the show's writers also met with a group of 12-year-old girls from Los Angeles to get feedback on the series.

''Kids today are so savvy,'' she said. ''They don't let you get away with anything.''

Ms. Rose, who grew up in Hudson, N.Y., studied at the Boston Museum School and the Hartford Art School. While working at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in Manhattan, she and a partner created the cartoon character ''Fido Dido'' from a drawing that Ms. Rose doodled on the back of an envelope. Fido evolved from decorating T-shirts to becoming the ''spokescartoon'' for Seven-Up International.

With ''Pepper Ann,'' Ms. Rose hopes to ''help kids feel better about what they're going through during adolescence.''

''We want the series to be funny and entertaining,'' she said. ''But we also want to let kids know that no matter the emotional roller coaster they're on every day, they'll survive.''

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A version of this article appears in print on November 23, 1997, on Page 13013055 of the National edition with the headline: SIGNOFF; A Spunky Heroine Navigates Adolescence. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe